After seven years in production - and 259 units built - the Hélia 44 is stepping down, to be replaced by the New 45, whose name will be announced early September. We carried a preview test out on the occasion of the first very sail of this eagerly-awaited new model.
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- Le chantier : Elba 45
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Our rendezvous was scheduled on the Troia peninsula, south-east of Lisbon. In early summer, conditions here are most often quite windy - the famous Portuguese trade winds. But we were going to have to be satisfied with a few puffs of northerly breeze... which in the end turned out to suit the New 45 quite well. A pleasant surprise really, because this new baby is rather chubby: 14 tons as opposed to the 10.8 of the Helia 44. We’re not very far off the displacement of the Saba 50 - 15.7 t. The sail area logically follows this increase: upwind, it goes from 115 m² (1,240 sq ft) on the Hélia to 1…
